Ronaldo scores winner in Saudi Arabia, says league is improving
May 23, 2023 GMTRIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo helped Al-Nassr keep its Saudi Arabian title hopes alive by scoring the winning goal in a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over Al-Shabab on Tuesday.
If second-place Al-Nassr had lost the Riyadh derby then leader Al-Ittihad, which beat Al-Batin 1-0 earlier, would have been crowned champion with two games of the season remaining.
Al-Hilal wins to reach Asian Champions League semifinals
February 23, 2023 GMTDOHA, Qatar (AP) — Titleholder Al-Hilal of Saudi Arabia advanced to the semifinals of the Asian Champions League with a 1-0 win over Iranian club Foolad on Thursday.
The four-time winner will take on Al-Duhail on Sunday, after the Qatari team defeated Al-Shabab 2-1 to prevent an all-Saudi Arabian last-four encounter.
Somali security forces end al-Shabab siege that killed 10
February 22, 2023 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Security forces in Somalia have ended a siege by al-Shabab extremists that killed 10 people and wounded three others at a home in the capital, Mogadishu.
The Information Ministry late Tuesday said the al-Qaida-linked fighters launched the rare attack on a private home with a suicide bombing.
Titleholder Al-Hilal cruises into ACL quarterfinals
February 20, 2023 GMTDOHA, Qatar (AP) — Titleholder Al-Hilal defeated Shabab Al-Ahli of the United Arab Emirates 3-1 to give Saudi Arabia two teams in the quarterfinals of the Asian Champions League on Monday.
In its first game since losing to Real Madrid 5-3 in the Club World Cup final nine days previously, Al-Hilal had too much firepower for the team from Dubai, led by former coach Leonardo Jardim.
Regional heads plan joint push against al-Shabab in Somalia
February 1, 2023 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The leaders of Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya have agreed on a joint “search and destroy” military campaign against the Somali al-Shabab Islamic militant group that has carried out attacks in the region — including firing mortars near the meeting venue in Mogadishu before officials gathered Wednesday.
‘They are on the run’: Somalia leads fight against al-Shabab
January 15, 2023 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Enough was enough. For 13 years, extremists with al-Qaida’s East Africa affiliate had controlled Mohamud Adow’s village in central Somalia, imposing harsh ideology and arresting local teachers and traditional leaders.
Al-Shabab extremists deny contact with Somalia’s government
January 9, 2023 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The Somalia-based al-Shabab extremist group has denied having contact with the Somali government after the country’s deputy defense minister claimed that the extremists had for the first time asked to negotiate.
Twin bombings targeting Somalia’s military kill at least 10
January 4, 2023 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Police in Somalia say two suicide car bombers killed at least 10 people early Wednesday when they targeted a military facility in a region at the heart of the government’s offensive against al-Shabab extremists.
2 shot dead by al-Shabab militants in coastal Kenya
December 26, 2022 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Two people were shot dead by al-Shabab militants and several houses torched in a rural area in coastal Kenya, police said Monday.
The Christmas night attack happened in the Pandaguo area in Lamu county that neighbors Boni forest, where security agencies have been conducting an operation since 2015 to flush out militants in hiding.
Suspected extremists attack police in northern Kenya; 3 dead
December 21, 2022 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Three people, including two police officers, were killed Wednesday morning in an attack by al-Shabab extremists in northern Kenya, Kenyan police have announced.
The victims were in a police vehicle when they were attacked between the Hayley Lapsset Camp and Garissa town, northeastern Kenya police chief George Seda said in a statement.
US targets Russian mercenary group over religious freedom
December 2, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Friday placed a well-known Russian paramilitary organization on a list of religious freedom violators alongside a number of notorious terrorist organizations.
Somali forces storm hotel held by extremists, free 60 people
November 28, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somali forces on Monday stormed a hotel in the capital, Mogadishu, where Islamic extremists had been holed up for more than 18 hours after killing eight civilians and trapping dozens in the building, officials said.
Al-Shabab extremist group attacks hotel in Somali capital
November 27, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somali security forces were attempting to flush out armed assailants from a hotel in the Somali capital, a police spokesman said Sunday, after the extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack.
Al-Shabab gunman kills 3 Kenyan peacekeepers in Somalia
November 21, 2022 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A lone gunman entered a military base in Somalia and killed at least three Kenyan peacekeepers Monday, the latest attack by extremist fighters who oppose the presence of foreigners in the Horn of Africa nation, according to Kenya's military.
UN maintains Somali arms embargo over government objections
November 18, 2022 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations Security Council voted Thursday to maintain an arms embargo on Somalia over strong objections from its government, saying the al-Shabab “terrorist group” still seriously threatens peace and stability in the region and sanctions are needed to degrade its activities.
5 killed in attack at Somali military training camp
November 6, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Military officers in Somalia say at least five people were killed and 11 others wounded when a suicide bomber detonated explosives at the front gate of a military training camp in Mogadishu on Saturday evening.
US military hits al-Shabab extremists in Somalia
November 5, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The United States military says it has carried out an airstrike in support of the Somali government’s operations against the al-Shabab extremist group that has killed some of the group's fighters.
Police say explosion in Somalia’s capital kills 2 students
November 3, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Police in Somalia say at least two people have been killed and five others wounded by a roadside explosion that hit a vehicle carrying students in the Dayniile district of Mogadishu.
Treasury sanctions IS-Somalia weapons traffickers, al-Shabab
November 1, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department announced sanctions Tuesday against a weapons trafficking network affiliated with the Islamic State group in Somalia and the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab extremist group, which are accused of carrying out deadly terrorist acts on civilians including car bombings.
Somalia car bombs death toll up to 120, some still missing
October 31, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The death toll from twin car bombings in Somalia's capital has reached 120 and could rise further because some people are still missing, the country's health minister said Monday.
Somalia car bombings kill at least 100, president says
October 30, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — At least 100 people were killed in two car bombings at a busy junction in the capital, Somalia's president said, and the toll could rise in the country's deadliest attack since a truck bombing at the same spot five years ago killed more than 500.
Two explosions rock Somalia’s capital, killing at least 30
October 29, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Two car bombs exploded Saturday at a busy junction in Somalia's capital near key government offices, causing “scores of civilian casualties" including children, national police said.
UN: Almost 1 million drought-hit Somalis in al-Shabab areas
October 26, 2022 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The United Nations says close to 1 million drought-affected people in Somalia are in areas under the control or influence of the al-Shabab extremist group, and it appealed to the fighters to allow humanitarian access as famine threatens the country.
8 killed in Somalia as militants attack port city hotel
October 23, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Eight people were killed after militants stormed a hotel in Somalia's port city of Kismayo, an attack that started with a suicide bombing Sunday before gunmen forcibly entered and exchanged fire with security forces.
US hits al-Shabab finance facilitators with sanctions
October 17, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department said Monday that it has sanctioned a group of high-ranking members of the Somalia-based al-Shabab militant group, who act as key middle men between the group and local companies in Somalia.
Al-Shabab attack kills 20, wounds 36 in town in Somalia
October 3, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Islamic extremist fighters on Monday targeted the local Somali government headquarters in the Hiran region, leaving 20 people dead and 36 wounded in a town at the center of a recent mobilization against the extremists, officials and witnesses said.
Somalia says a top al-Shabab extremist leader is killed
October 3, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somali authorities say a top leader of the al-Shabab extremist group has been killed in a joint operation by the Somali National Army and international partner forces.
Abdullahi Nadir had a $3 million bounty on his head by the United States and the Somali government described him as “one of the most important members of al-Shabab.”
With support from allied militia, Somalia hunts al-Shabab
September 21, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Militia members in central Somalia have helped kill scores of al-Shabab militants in an ongoing operation against the Islamic extremist rebels that is receiving air support from the United States, Somali authorities said.
Al-Shabab kills at least 20, burns food trucks in Somalia
September 3, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somali state media and residents say the extremist group al-Shabab killed at least 20 people and burned seven vehicles transporting food in the Hiran region Saturday morning, and the government's drought envoy called it “devastating” for communities in the grip of a severe drought.
After Somalia hotel siege, a vow to tackle al-Shabab ‘snake’
August 26, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Hell began at sunset.
It was a Friday evening in Somalia’s capital. The patrons of the Hayat hotel had finished their latest prayers and settled in for coffee, tea or dinner.
Somali forces end hotel attack that left 21 dead, 117 hurt
August 21, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somali authorities on Sunday ended an attack by Islamic extremists that left 21 people dead and over 110 wounded when gunmen stormed a hotel in the capital.
It took Somali forces more than 30 hours to contain the fighters who had stormed Mogadishu's Hayat Hotel on Friday evening in an assault that started with loud explosions.
Gunmen storm hotel in Somali capital, leave 20 dead
August 20, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Islamic militants have stormed a hotel in Somalia's capital, engaging in an hours-long exchange of fire with the security forces that left at least 20 people dead, according to police and witnesses.
In a first, Somalia-based al-Shabab is attacking in Ethiopia
August 5, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The al-Shabab extremist group has exploited Ethiopia’s internal turmoil to cross the border from neighboring Somalia in unprecedented attacks in recent weeks that a top U.S.
Somalia names former al-Shabab deputy a government minister
August 2, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A former deputy leader of the al-Shabab extremist group has been named a government minister by Somalia’s new administration in what some call a chance to persuade fighters to denounce violence.
Dutch mom gets 3 years in US for supporting Somali militants
August 1, 2022 GMTALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A Dutch woman was sentenced to three years in prison Monday for donating several hundred dollars to a group that supported the militant group al-Shabab in Somalia.
The sentenced imposed on Farhia Hassan, 38, was far less than the 8-year sentence sought by prosecutors.
Suicide bombing in Somalia kills 11 including local official
July 27, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Witnesses say at least 11 people are dead after a suicide bomber blew himself up at the entrance to a government building in southern Somalia.
District Commissioner Abdillahi Ali Waafow was among those killed in Wednesday's attack, the secretary-general of the Marka town administration in the Lower Shabelle region, Mohamed Osmaan Yariisoow, told The Associated Press by phone.
Study: Facebook fails to catch East Africa extremist content
June 15, 2022 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A new study has found that Facebook has failed to catch Islamic State group and al-Shabab extremist content in posts aimed at East Africa as the region remains under threat from violent attacks and Kenya prepares to vote in a closely contested national election.
For new Somalia government, al-Shabab a threat to authority
May 25, 2022 GMTA Somali police officer recently received an unexpected summons from the enemy. An unknown caller ordered him to report to a town outside the capital, Mogadishu, where the extremist group al-Shabab would settle a dispute between him and his brother.
UN envoy urges Somalia’s new leaders to tackle urgent issues
May 24, 2022 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. envoy for Somalia urged the country Monday to build on last week's election of a new president and work on national reconciliation, improve relations between the central government and states, and confront the growing threat from the al-Shabab extremist group.
Reversing Trump, Biden acts to deploy US troops to Somalia
May 16, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden signed an order Monday to redeploy hundreds of U.S. troops to Somalia to counter the Islamic extremist rebel group al-Shabab, an effort that American military leaders said had been hampered by President Donald Trump's late-term decision to withdraw forces from the country.
Somalia set to elect new president amid growing insecurity
May 12, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia is set to hold its long-delayed presidential vote on Sunday, ending the convoluted electoral process that raised tensions in the country when the president's term expired last year without a successor in place.
Police: 4 killed in Somalia blast ahead of presidential vote
May 11, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somali police say at least four people have been killed by a suicide explosion that targeted a checkpoint near the airport in the capital, Mogadishu.
Dutch woman convicted in US of al-Shabab fundraising
May 4, 2022 GMTALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A Dutch woman has been convicted of raising money for the Somali terrorist group al-Shabab, according to a federal prosecutor.
Farhia Hassan, 38, was convicted Tuesday of conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, Jessica Aber, U.S.
Burundian peacekeepers in Somalia killed in jihadi attack
May 4, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — The African Union says a number of Burundian peacekeepers were killed in Tuesday's attack by Islamic extremist rebels who targeted a remote military base in Somalia.
The African Union condemned the attack and paid “tribute to the Burundian peacekeepers who lost their lives helping to bring peace and stability to Somalia,” in a statement issued Wednesday.
Somalia’s al-Shabab rebels attack African Union base
May 3, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia's al-Shabab Islamic extremist rebels have attacked a military base of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia, witnesses told The Associated Press.
The attack started early Tuesday when a vehicle rammed into the fence surrounding the base and exploded in El-Baraf, a strategic town 150 kilometers (93 miles) northeast of the capital Mogadishu in the Middle Shabelle region, residents said.
Somalia’s extremists bomb restaurant in the capital; 6 dead
April 23, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A bomb blast by Somalia's Islamic extremist rebels hit a popular seaside restaurant in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, killing at least six people, ambulance service officials say.
UN authorizes new AU mission in Somalia to combat extremists
April 1, 2022 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to endorse the African Union’s new transitional mission in Somalia and authorized it to take action against al-Qaida and Islamic State extremist groups and conduct a phased handover of security responsibilities to Somalia’s government.
Somali female lawmaker among scores killed by suicide bomber
March 24, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A prominent Somali female lawmaker is among at least 48 people killed in a suicide bombing that hit a polling station in rural central Somalia, police and a local official said Thursday.
Al-Shabab gunmen attack airport in Somalia’s capital
March 23, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Gunfire rang out in Somalia's capital Wednesday as Islamic extremists attacked the international airport, injuring at least three police officers.
Somali security forces repulsed the assault, killing two armed attackers, Somali Police Commissioner Gen.
Scathing reports find military failures in 2020 Kenya attack
March 10, 2022 GMTWASHINGTON (AP) — Military investigations have found poor leadership, inadequate training and a "culture of complacency” among U.S. forces undermined efforts to fend off a 2020 attack by militants in Kenya that killed three Americans, U.S.
Blast at busy restaurant kills 15, wounds 20 in Somali city
February 19, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Police say at least 15 people are dead after a suicide bomber detonated an explosive vest at a crowded restaurant during lunch hour in Beledweyne, the capital of Somalia’s Hiran region.
Somalia says al-Shabab attack kills 5 outside capital
February 16, 2022 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An attack by the al-Shabab extremist group on Wednesday killed five people and wounded 16 on the outskirts of Somalia's capital, police said.
Somalia’s government said the early morning attack targeted police and checkpoints outside of Mogadishu.
At least 10 killed in Kenya when vehicle runs over explosive
January 31, 2022 GMTNAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — A local official in northeastern Kenya says at least 10 people are dead after their vehicle ran over an explosive device on a highway Monday morning.
North Eastern regional commander George Seda said the blast occurred outside Mandera town.
Al-Shabab claims deadly bombing near Somali military camp
January 18, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — At least four people were killed and 10 others wounded in Somalia's capital when a man in an explosive vest detonated at a teashop opposite a Somali military training camp on Tuesday, the Somali National News Agency reports.
Somalia’s government spokesperson wounded in suicide bombing
January 16, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — Somalia’s government spokesperson was wounded Sunday in a suicide bombing that the al-Shabab extremist group has claimed responsibility for.
Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimuu appeared to be the sole target in the attack near his residence by a busy intersection in the capital, Mogadishu.
Car bomb hits outside Mogadishu airport in Somalia; 8 killed
January 12, 2022 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A car bomb exploded Wednesday outside the international airport in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, killing at least eight people and wounding nine others, a local doctor said.
Al-Shabab blast by school in Somali capital kills at least 8
November 25, 2021 GMTMOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) — A large explosion outside a school in Somalia's capital on Thursday killed at least eight people, including students, witnesses said. The extremist group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the attack.
UN condemns arms supply to Somalia’s al-Shabab, keeps UN ban
November 16, 2021 GMTUNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council condemned the supply of weapons and ammunition to al-Shabab extremists and others in Somalia in violation of a U.N. arms embargo and voted Monday to extend the ban for a year, saying the al-Qaida affiliate's terrorist activities continue to destabilize the Horn of Africa nation.
Dutch woman brought to Virginia to face terrorism charge
October 29, 2021 GMTALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — A Dutch woman charged seven years ago with raising money for the Somali terrorist group al-Shabab has been extradited to the U.S. to face trial.
Farhia Hassan, 38, made an initial appearance Friday in U.S.